By 1979, Judas Priest (JP) was riding high and gaining speed.
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was barely a ripple, and still
gaining momentum. Meanwhile JP was the uncontested leader of the
pack. Bands like Motorhead, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard were just
getting their feet wet, while JP was selling out venues around the
world. Despite virtually no radio support outside their homeland,
their legend was growing and sold-out shows were the norm in the
U.S. and Japan, not to mention their already established fan base
in Europe.

While they had established a successful formula based the
influences of metal pioneers like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple,
and the theatrical hard rock of Kiss and Alice Cooper, they were
still experimenting with different styles. On
Hell Bent For Leather (
HBFL) they seem to be absorbing new influences, particularly
the more melodic metal acts like UFO, Blue Oyster Cult, and
Rainbow. This mixture of influences doesn't dilute their power at
all, in fact it offers them broader and more diverse palate to work
in, as long as they don't stretch too far from their signature
sound.

On
HBFL they manage to balance the styles very nicely. The
macho cock-rock they do best is the focus of this set. One of the
big steps forward I hear in this disk is singer Rob Halford
exercising much more control over this voice. Halford, as powerful
as vocalist as his is, has a limited range that he does well to
stay within. On their previous release
Stained Class, Halford spends most of his time in way up in
his upper range, and it becomes almost unbearable by the end of the
set. In contrast, on
HBFL he wisely does most of his work in his lower, more
natural growl, and the result is much more effective. This isn't to
say we don't get a decent helping of the operatic howling he does
so well, just a more digestible dose of it. Case in point is the
title track. Halford barks out the lyrics and saves the climactic
howls for the final verse where they have much more impact.

The bulk of the album treads the familiar territory of
over-the-top, bombastic biker mayhem. Let's get real here; what
they do best is big, dumb head-bangers. Muscular guitars,
thundering percussion and Halford's barely constrained vocal
assault are what made them such a success. That's what the fans
want, and that's what they do on this album. The title track,
"Burnin'Up," "Delivering The Goods" and "Running Wild" don't offer
any surprises, they are just good, solid heavy metal songs that
work well because they don't stretch too far.

Most of the tracks in
HBFL hit the target solidly, but they do miss the mark a
couple of times. "Take On The World" is not very satisfying track.
It sounds like soccer-hooligan chant and would have been better
relegated to a b-side. "Before The Dawn" is another low point. JPs
insistence on dark ballads has never been their strong point, and
"Before The Dawn" is an exercise in tedium. I mean really, what
does a JP fan really expect? Some shmeg about lost love? Or a song
about kicking someone's testicles up into his spleen and then
running over him with your Harley? (With his chick riding behind
you of course.) Yeah, you know what I mean.

The centerpiece of this album is another of their cover songs,
something these guys have done very well. On
HBFL, they rework the menacing "Green Manalishi (With The
Two-Pronged Crown)." The boys pay homage to Peter Green's dark,
brooding classic and despite the very heavy guitars, they manage to
retain the subtle creepiness of the original.

A few missteps aside, this is one their best albums ever, and
one that has been grossly overlooked. In between the shrieking,
punk-like
Stained Class and their commercial breakthrough
British Steel, they laid down a powerful but restrained set
that would be a template for their future. There isn't anything
groundbreaking here, and most have these songs have never received
any airplay, it's just a good healthy serving of classic Priest. If
I were to recommend one studio album from their early years, this
would be it.